Efficient infrastructure service discovery with security

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for efficient infrastructure service discovery with security are disclosed. In one aspect, systems and methods for advertising services available via an access point without requiring a device to connect for discovery are described. This may allow devices to determine, prior to establishing a connection with an access point, whether a desired service is offered. Further description of publication rules is provided. Service providers can use the publication rules to identify service information which may be discovered by devices based on device authentication status or other factors to allow controlled, secure discovery of the service information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/830,408, entitled “EFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICEDISCOVERY WITH SECURITY,” filed Jun. 3, 2013, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety. Any and all priority claims identified in theApplication Data Sheet, or any correction thereto, are herebyincorporated by reference under 37 C.F.R. §1.57.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present application relates generally to wireless communications,and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for secure andefficient discovery of infrastructure services on a network.

Background

In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used toexchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices.Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which couldbe, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area.Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network(WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN),wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN).Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique usedto interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g., circuitswitching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed fortransmission (e.g., wired vs. wireless), and the set of communicationprotocols used (e.g., Internet protocol suite, SONET (SynchronousOptical Networking), Ethernet, etc.).

Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements aremobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the networkarchitecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology.Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguidedpropagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave,infra-red, optical, etc. frequency bands. Wireless networksadvantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment whencompared to fixed wired networks.

The devices in a wireless network may transmit/receive informationbetween each other. In general, some devices may serve as access points(APs) for a network, which other devices may connect to access functionsof the network. Different APs may offer varying services to devicesconnected to those APs. Examples of services include music service,video service, print service, photo service, information service, andstorage service. Thus, improved systems, methods, and devices forproviding an efficient process for devices to discover a service whichmay be accessed through the AP are desired.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and apparatuses of the invention each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed bythe claims which follow, some features will now be discussed briefly.After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading thesection entitled “Detailed Description” one will understand how thefeatures of this invention provide advantages that include improvedpaging for devices in a wireless network.

In one innovative aspect, an apparatus for providing service informationis provided. The apparatus includes a receiver configured to receive aservice information query from a user equipment for a service. Theapparatus further includes a service information processor. The serviceinformation processor is configured to transmit a service discoveryrequest for the service. The service information processor is furtherconfigured to receive a service discovery response from the serviceincluding a publication rule identifying an authentication status of arequesting user equipment and service information to transmit to arequesting user equipment having the authentication status. The serviceinformation processor is further configured to generate the serviceinformation based at least in part on the service discovery response andan authentication status of the user equipment. The apparatus furtherincludes a transmitter configured to transmit a service informationresponse including the service information.

An innovative method of providing service information is also provided.The method includes receiving a service information query from a userequipment for a service. The method further includes transmitting aservice discovery request for the service. The method also includesreceiving a service discovery response from the service including apublication rule identifying an authentication status of a requestinguser equipment and service information to transmit to a requesting userequipment having the authentication status. The method also includesgenerating the service information based at least in part on the servicediscovery response and an authentication status of the user equipment.The method also includes transmitting a service information responseincluding the service information.

Another innovative apparatus for providing service information isprovided. The apparatus includes means for receiving a serviceinformation query from a user equipment for a service. The apparatusalso includes means for transmitting a service discovery request for theservice. The apparatus also includes means for receiving a servicediscovery response from the service including a publication ruleidentifying an authentication status of a requesting user equipment andservice information to transmit to a requesting user equipment havingthe authentication status. The apparatus includes means for generatingthe service information based at least in part on the service discoveryresponse and an authentication status of the user equipment. Theapparatus includes means for transmitting a service information responseincluding the service information.

In a further innovative aspect, a computer-readable storage includinginstructions executable by a processor of an apparatus is provided. Theinstructions cause the apparatus to receive a service information queryfrom a user equipment for a service. The instructions also cause theapparatus to transmit a service request to the service. The instructionscause the apparatus to receive a service response from the serviceincluding a publication rule identifying an authentication status of arequesting user equipment and service information to transmit to arequesting user equipment having the authentication status. Theinstructions also cause the apparatus to generate the serviceinformation based at least in part on the service discovery response andan authentication status of the user equipment. The instructions causethe apparatus to transmit a service information response including theservice information.

In another innovative aspect, an apparatus for providing access to anetworked service is provided. The apparatus includes a receiverconfigured to receive a service discovery request for the networkedservice. The apparatus includes a service information processorconfigured to generate service information describing the networkedservice, the service information including a publication ruleidentifying an authentication status of a requesting user equipment andservice information to transmit to a requesting user equipment havingthe authentication status. The apparatus also includes a transmitterconfigured to transmit a service discovery response including theservice information.

A method of providing access to a networked service is provided in afurther innovative aspect. The method includes receiving a servicediscovery request for the networked service. The method includesgenerating service information describing the networked service, theservice information including a publication rule identifying anauthentication status of a requesting user equipment and serviceinformation to transmit to a requesting user equipment having theauthentication status. The method includes transmitting a servicediscovery response including the service information.

Another apparatus for providing access to a networked service isprovided in a further innovative aspect. The apparatus includes meansfor receiving a service discovery request for the networked service. Theapparatus includes means for generating service information describingthe networked service, the service information including a publicationrule identifying an authentication status of a requesting user equipmentand service information to transmit to a requesting user equipmenthaving the authentication status. The apparatus also includes means fortransmitting a service discovery response including the serviceinformation.

A further computer-readable storage including instructions executable bya processor of an apparatus is provided in another innovative aspect.The instructions cause the apparatus to receive a service discoveryrequest for a networked service. The instructions further cause theapparatus to generate service information describing the networkedservice, the service information including a publication ruleidentifying an authentication status of a requesting user equipment andservice information to transmit to a requesting user equipment havingthe authentication status. The instructions further cause the apparatusto transmit a service discovery response including the serviceinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and additional aspects described herein will become morereadily apparent by reference to the following Description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings

FIG. 1A shows an example wireless communication system in which aspectsof the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 1B shows another example wireless communication system in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example wireless devicethat may be employed within a wireless communication system.

FIG. 3A illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating an example flowfor efficient infrastructure service discovery with security.

FIG. 3B illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating another exampleflow for efficient infrastructure service discovery with security.

FIG. 3C illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating a furtherexample flow for efficient infrastructure service discovery withsecurity.

FIG. 4 shows a message flow diagram illustrating another example flowfor efficient infrastructure service discovery with security.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block diagram for a network whichincludes selection of a service discovery proxy for multiplesub-networks.

FIG. 6 illustrates a functional block diagram for an example of a devicefor providing service information.

FIG. 7 shows a process flow diagram for an example method of providingservice information.

FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram for an example of a devicefor providing access to a networked service.

FIG. 9 illustrates a process flow diagram for an example method ofproviding access to a networked service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, one way to identify a service provided via an AP isto connect to the AP and then submit a query for services availablethrough the AP. The connection process may include authenticationprocessing. From the device perspective, the process of connecting,authenticating, and discovering may include the utilization ofprocessing resources, power resources, transmit and/or receiveresources, and time. Each of these may impact the performance of thedevice. Similar resources may be expended from the AP perspective tosupport the connection, authentication, and discovery. As the AP may beservicing multiple devices, the impact on the AP may be felt by one ormore of the devices connected thereto.

Should the AP provide the service of interest to the device, theoverhead may present little loss of efficiency. However, if the devicedoes not discover the service at a given AP, the connection anddiscovery process may terminate and be repeated again with another AP.In these cases, the potential for efficiency gains exist.

In some configurations, the AP may provide access to services formultiple service providers. For example, an airport access point mayprovide wireless access to the networks operated by different wirelesscarriers. In such configurations, a device may not only be looking for aparticular service, but a particular service on a particular providernetwork. Further details of how a device can discover and a single APcan efficiently provide discoverable service for a provider isdescribed.

One non-limiting advantage of the features described below is to allowAPs the ability to advertise services available via the AP withoutrequiring a device to connect for discovery. This may allow devices todetermine prior to establishing a connection with an AP, whether adesired service is offered. If the service is not offered, the devicemay avoid the overhead to set up a connection and thus improve theefficiency of the device and AP.

Another non-limiting advantage of the features described below is toallow services hosted by an AP to determine whether or not the serviceis discoverable to unconnected devices. In some implementations, aservice may wish to advertise some or no information about itself tounconnected devices. In this way, service providers may secure theirservices.

A further non-limiting advantage of the features described is to allow asingle access point the ability to provide secure, efficient, anddiscoverable access to services across multiple service providernetworks.

Various aspects of the novel systems, apparatuses, and methods aredescribed more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structureor function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspectsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art shouldappreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover anyaspect of the novel systems, apparatuses, and methods disclosed herein,whether implemented independently of, or combined with, any other aspectof the invention. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or amethod may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forthherein. In addition, the scope of the invention is intended to coversuch an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure,functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or otherthan the various aspects of the invention set forth herein. It should beunderstood that any aspect disclosed herein may be embodied by one ormore elements of a claim.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure.Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects arementioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited toparticular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of thedisclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wirelesstechnologies, system configurations, networks, and transmissionprotocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of thedisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure beingdefined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Popular wireless network technologies may include various types ofwireless local area networks (WLANs). A WLAN may be used to interconnectnearby devices together, employing widely used networking protocols. Thevarious aspects described herein may apply to any communicationstandard, such as a wireless protocol.

In some aspects, wireless signals may be transmitted according to an802.11 protocol. In some implementations, a WLAN includes variousdevices which are the components that access the wireless network. Forexample, there may be two types of devices: access points (APs) andclients (also referred to as stations, or STAs). In general, an AP mayserve as a hub or base station for the WLAN and an STA serves as a userof the WLAN. For example, an STA may be a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, etc. In an example, an STAconnects to an AP via a WiFi compliant wireless link to obtain generalconnectivity to the Internet or to other wide area networks. In someimplementations an STA may also be used as an AP.

An access point (AP) may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as abase station, wireless access point, access node or similar terminology.

A station “STA” may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as anaccess terminal (AT), a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobilestation, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a useragent, a user device, user equipment, or some other terminology.Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated intoa phone (e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., alaptop), a portable communication device, a headset, a portablecomputing device (e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainmentdevice (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a gamingdevice or system, a global positioning system device, or any othersuitable device that is configured for network communication via awireless medium.

As discussed above, certain of the devices described herein mayimplement an 802.11 standard, for example. Such devices, whether used asan STA or AP or other device, may be used for smart metering or in asmart grid network. Such devices may provide sensor applications or beused in home automation. The devices may instead or in addition be usedin a healthcare context, for example for personal healthcare. They mayalso be used for surveillance, to enable extended-range Internetconnectivity (e.g., for use with hotspots), or to implementmachine-to-machine communications.

FIG. 1A shows an example wireless communication system 100 in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be employed. The wirelesscommunication system 100 may operate pursuant to a wireless standard,for example an 802.11 standard. The wireless communication system 100may include an AP 104, which communicates with STAs 106.

A variety of processes and methods may be used for transmissions in thewireless communication system 100 between the AP 104 and the STAs 106.For example, signals may be sent and received between the AP 104 and theSTAs 106 in accordance with OFDM/OFDMA techniques. If this is the case,the wireless communication system 100 may be referred to as anOFDM/OFDMA system. Alternatively, signals may be sent and receivedbetween the AP 104 and the STAs 106 in accordance with CDMA techniques.If this is the case, the wireless communication system 100 may bereferred to as a CDMA system.

A communication link that facilitates transmission from the AP 104 toone or more of the STAs 106 may be referred to as a downlink (DL) 108,and a communication link that facilitates transmission from one or moreof the STAs 106 to the AP 104 may be referred to as an uplink (UL) 110.Alternatively, a downlink 108 may be referred to as a forward link or aforward channel, and an uplink 110 may be referred to as a reverse linkor a reverse channel.

The AP 104 may act as a base station and provide wireless communicationcoverage in a basic service area (BSA) 102. The AP 104 along with theSTAs 106 associated with the AP 104 and that use the AP 104 forcommunication may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS). It shouldbe noted that the wireless communication system 100 may not have acentral AP 104, but rather may function as a peer-to-peer networkbetween the STAs 106. Accordingly, the functions of the AP 104 describedherein may alternatively be performed by one or more of the STAs 106.

The AP 104 may transmit messages via a communication link such as thedownlink 108, to other nodes STAs 106 of the system 100. Such messagesmay be transmitted periodically. A message may be transmitted to asingle device (e.g., unicast), transmitted to a group of devices (e.g.,multicast), or transmitted to all devices (e.g., broadcast).Accordingly, a message may include information both common (e.g.,shared) amongst several devices, and information specific to a givendevice.

In some aspects, a STA 106 may be required to associate with the AP 104in order to send communications to and/or receive communications fromthe AP 104. In one aspect, information for associating with the AP 104is included in a message by the AP 104. After receiving the informationfor associating, the STA 106 may transmit a message, such as anassociation probe or request, to the AP 104.

An access point 104 may also provide access to one or more service 120.As just a few examples, the services 120 may include music service,video service, print service, photo service, information service, andstorage service. The services 120 may be discovered by STA 106. In theimplementation shown, the AP 104 includes a discovery functions module105. The discovery functions module 105 is configured to facilitate thediscovery of the services 120 associated with the AP 104 as described infurther detail below. In some implementations, one or more of theservices 120 may be provided by a STA within the basic service area 102for the AP 104. For example, a printer attached to a home network mayprovide print services.

FIG. 1B shows another example wireless communication system in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be employed. The wirelesscommunication system 130 includes the AP 104 and STA 106 which aresimilar to those described in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B also illustrates twosub-networks, network 150 a and network 150 b. The sub-networks, network150 a and/or network 150 b, may be accessed by the STA 106 via the AP104. In some implementations, the sub-networks may be implemented asvirtual local area networks, virtual private networks, home networks,private network, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the network 150 a includes a discovery proxy 160 aand three services, a video service 170 a, a music service 170 b, and aninformation (“info”) service 170 c. It will be understood that thenetwork 150 a may include more or less services depending on theconfiguration of the network 150 a. The network 150 b also includes adiscovery proxy 160 b, an info service 180 a (e.g., traffic, weather,movie times, sports scores, etc.), a print service 180 b, and a storageservice 180 c which are similar to those included in the network 150 a.The types of services shown in FIG. 1B are examples and other servicesmay be included without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The discovery proxy 160 a provides an intermediate level of controlbetween for discovering and providing service access and information.The discovery proxy 160 a may identify which if any information toprovide about services connected thereto. For example, the service 180 bmay register with the discovery proxy 160 a. As part of the registrationprocess, the service 180 b may provide information for discovery byauthenticated STAs and information which may be discovered byunauthenticated STAs. In some implementations, the discovery proxy 160 amay inquire with the associated services for discovery preferences. Thereceived information may be stored (e.g., cached) and periodicallyupdated.

As one example, the information may identify a type for the service(e.g., service 180 b). One type may be referred to as a “private”service. Private services may be services which are advertised only todevices which have been associated with the AP 104. The serviceinformation is made available only to devices connection to the network.The disclosed features also contemplate a second service type which maybe referred to as a “public” service. Public service information is madeavailable to non-associated device in addition to associated devices.Accordingly, the service may be discovered either by devices connectedto the network or devices which may connect to the network. Furtherservice types to govern the accessibility of service information may bedefined based on device class, application, device type, deviceoperating system, device capability, device features (e.g., GPS,Bluetooth, USB connectivity, camera, display), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the service 170 c may be accessible directlythrough the AP 104. Service 170 a and service 170 b may be accessed viathe discovery proxy 160 a. Similarly, service 180 b and service 180 cmay be accessed via the discovery proxy 160 b while service 180 a isaccessible directly through the AP 104.

The AP 104 in FIG. 1B includes a discovery functions module 105. Thediscovery functions module 105 may be configured to perform one or moreof the discovery functions described herein. For example, the discoveryfunctions module 105 may be configured to communicate discovery requestsreceived from the UE 106 to the discovery proxy 160 and/or the variousservices. The discovery functions module 105 may be further configuredto enforce the publication rules for service information received fromthe various services.

While the discovery proxy 160 a and the discovery proxy 160 b are shownas separate functional entities in FIG. 1B, it will be understood thatthe functionality of the discovery proxy 160 a and the discovery proxy160 b may be incorporated into the AP 104 and/or each service. For easeof explanations, the discovery proxy 160 a and the discovery proxy 160 bmay be collectively referred to as discovery proxy 160.

FIG. 2 shows an example functional block diagram of a wireless device202 that may be employed within a wireless communication system. Thewireless device 202 may be deployed in the wireless communication system100 of FIG. 1A and/or the wireless communication system 130 of FIG. 1B.The wireless device 202 is an example of a device that may be configuredto implement the various methods described herein. For example, thewireless device 202 may comprise the AP 104, the discovery proxy 160, orone of the STAs 106.

The wireless device 202 may include a processor 204 which controlsoperation of the wireless device 202. The processor 204 may also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 206, which mayinclude both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), mayprovide instructions and data to the processor 204. A portion of thememory 206 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).The processor 204 typically performs logical and arithmetic operationsbased on program instructions stored within the memory 206. Theinstructions in the memory 206 may be executable to implement themethods described herein.

The processor 204 may comprise or be a component of a processing systemimplemented with one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe implemented with any combination of general-purpose microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate array (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers,state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicatedhardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entities that canperform calculations or other manipulations of information.

The processing system may also include machine-readable media forstoring software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean any typeof instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Instructions mayinclude code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format,executable code format, or any other suitable format of code). Theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theprocessing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The wireless device 202 may also include a housing 208 that may includea transmitter 210 and/or a receiver 212 to allow transmission andreception of data between the wireless device 202 and a remote location.The transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be combined into a transceiver214. An antenna 216 may be attached to the housing 208 and electricallycoupled to the transceiver 214. The wireless device 202 may also include(not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas.

The transmitter 210 may be configured to wirelessly transmit messages.The transmitter 210 may be configured to transmit service discoveryrequests and/or responses. The transmitter may also be configured totransmit “paging messages” that are configured to indicate servicediscovery information. For example, the transmitter 210 may beconfigured to transmit paging messages.

The receiver 212 may be configured to wirelessly receive messages suchas service discovery messages. In some implementations, the receiver maybe configured to receive paging messages.

The transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may send and receive, respectively,messages generated by the processor 204, discussed above. When thewireless device 202 is implemented or used as a STA 106, the processor204 may be configured to process received messages. When the wirelessdevice 202 is implemented or used as an AP 104, the processor 204 mayalso be configured to process and/or generate discovery messages. Whenthe wireless device 202 is implemented or used as discovery proxy 160,the processor 204 may also be configured to processor and/or generatediscovery messages.

The wireless device 202 may also include a signal detector 218 that maybe used in an effort to detect and quantify the level of signalsreceived by the transceiver 214. The signal detector 218 may detect suchsignals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density and other signals. The wireless device 202 may alsoinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) 220 for use in processingsignals. The DSP 220 may be configured to generate a packet fortransmission. In some aspects, the packet may comprise a physical layerdata unit (PPDU).

The wireless device 202 may further comprise a user interface 222 insome aspects. The user interface 222 may comprise a keypad, amicrophone, a speaker, and/or a display. The user interface 222 mayinclude any element or component that conveys information to a user ofthe wireless device 202 and/or receives input from the user.

The wireless device 202 shown also includes a discovery module 224. Thediscovery module 224 may include one or more of a publication rulesprocessor 230, a service information generator 235, and a queryprocessor 240. When the wireless device 202 is implemented as a UE 106,the query processor 240 may be configured to generate service discoveryrequests. Example service discovery requests include zeroconf typemessages, universal plug and play messages, and access network queryprotocol service-query messages. The service discovery requests may beprovided to the transmitter 210 for transmission. The query processor240 may also receive service discovery responses via the receiver 212.The query processor 240 may be further configured to parse the servicediscovery responses. The information received and parsed may be storedin the memory 206 for further processing such as attachment processingif the AP 104 is associated with the desired service.

When the wireless device 202 is implemented as an AP 104, the queryprocessor 240 may be configured to send and receive discovery requestswith UEs and with service providers. In some implementations, the queryprocessor 240 of the AP 104 may communicate directly with services ofthe service providers (e.g., info service 108 a of FIG. 1B). In someimplementations, the query processor 240 may communicate with adiscovery proxy for the service (e.g., discovery proxy 160 a of FIG.1B).

The query processor 240 may be configured to include additionalinformation in service discovery requests transmitted to the service.For example, the query processor 240 may be configured to includeinformation regarding the UE's connection status (e.g., connected versusnon-connected) as part of the service discovery query. The queryprocessor 240 may also be configured to route queries based oninformation included in the service discovery request. For example, a UE106 may include a preferred service provider in addition to a service ofinterest. In such instances, the query processor 240 of the AP 104 maybe configured to route the service discovery request for the serviceprovider specified in the request rather than transmitting the requestto all associated networks.

When the wireless device 202 is implemented as an AP 104, thepublication rules processor 230 may be included. The publication rulesprocessor 230 may be configured to receive and apply publication rulesfor the services. For example, the AP 104 may receive serviceinformation which is for publication only to authenticated devices. Thepublication rules processor 230 may be configured to obtain theauthentication status for a UE 106 associated with a given servicediscovery query, and provide the service discovery information based onthe authentication status and the publication rule for the service. Itwill be appreciated that the authentication status may includeauthenticated or non-authenticated for the device via the network. INsome implementations, the authentication status may be group based(e.g., the device has been authenticated as a member of a particulargroup or at a specific service level). Notwithstanding the granularityof the authentication status, the status values implemented with asystem may be used to determine what, if any, service information topublish.

The service information generator 235 may be included to create theservice information response for transmission via the transmitter 210 tothe UE 106. In some implementations, the publication rule may identify asubset of service information which is discoverable by non-authenticateddevices. In such implementations, the service information generator 235may create a service information message including the publiclyavailable information for a non-authenticated device. This message maythen be transmitted to the non-authenticated device via the transmitter210.

When the wireless device 202 is implemented at the service provider(e.g., included in a service or as a provider service proxy), the queryprocessor 240 may be configured similarly as when the wireless device202 is implemented as an AP. The query processor 240 may be configuredto receive and send service discovery messages as described herein. Thequery processor 240 may determine what information to include for agiven query based on information received from the publication rulesprocessor 230. For example, the service discovery request may includecapability information for the requesting UE 106. Based on thisinformation, the publication rules processor 230 may identify elementsof the service information which may be published for a UE 106 with theindicated capability information. The service information generator 235may be similarly configured as when the wireless device 202 is an AP104. The service information generator 235 may be configured to createthe service discovery response and provide this for transmission such asvia transmitter 210.

The various components of the wireless device 202 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 226. The bus system 226 may include a data bus,for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a statussignal bus in addition to the data bus. Those of skill in the art willappreciate the components of the wireless device 202 may be coupledtogether or accept or provide inputs to each other using some othermechanism.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 2, oneor more of the components may be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processor 204 may be used to implement not only thefunctionality described above with respect to the processor 204, butalso to implement the functionality described above with respect to thesignal detector 218 and/or the DSP 220. Further, each of the componentsillustrated in FIG. 2 may be implemented using a plurality of separateelements.

An AP 104 may offer a wide variety of services to a STA 106. Forexample, the AP 104 may offer specialized services, such as: printing;streaming and/or download of content such as music, games, or videos;storage; photo processing; or other types of services. These servicesmay be offered on an ad hoc basis. The services may vary with time. Inany given network, different APs may offer difference services to STAsconnected to those APs. An AP 104 may also be able to run applicationswhich may start or stop the offering of certain services to a STA 106.Furthermore, the AP 104 may provide services from one or more providernetworks. Because different APs may offer different services, and frompotentially disparate providers, it may be beneficial for an AP to beconfigured to advertise which services are available on via AP.Similarly, it may be desirable to allow a STA 106 to discover serviceswithout establishing a connection with the AP 104.

FIG. 3A illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating an example flowfor efficient infrastructure service discovery with security. Themessage flow of FIG. 3A shows messages exchanged between severalentities which may be included in a wireless communication system. Forease of explanation, the number of entities shown has been limited.However, it will be understood that additional entities may be added ormultiple entities combined consistent with the description herein. Theflow of FIG. 3A illustrates a connected (e.g., authenticated) UE flow.

The flow of FIG. 3A shows the user equipment 106, the access point 104,the discovery proxy 160, and a service 390. Messages 301 may betransmitted between the user equipment 106 and the access point toconnect with a network provided by the access point 104.

A service discovery request 302 is transmitted from the user equipment106 to the access point 104. The user equipment 106 need not beassociated with the access point 104. The service discovery request 302from the user equipment 106 may be a zeroconf type protocol (e.g.,multicast domain name service; Bonjour™; etc.), access network queryprotocol, or a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) message. The servicediscovery request 302 may include an identification of a service orservice type to be discovered. The service discovery request 302 may, insome implementations, also include an identification of a serviceprovider. The identification of the service provider may include anetwork access identifier, a roaming consortium identifier, an operatorname, or the like. The service discovery request 302 may further includeinformation identifying the user equipment 106. In the flow of FIG. 3A,as the user equipment 106 is connected to the access point 104, anidentifier may be assigned by the access point 104 for the userequipment 106. This identifier may be included in the service discoveryrequest 302.

The access point 104 receives the service discovery request 302. Basedon the information included in the service discovery request 302 theaccess point may obtain device information (dev_info) for the UEassociated with the service discovery request 302. The information maybe obtained from memory, from another network entity (e.g., mobilitymanagement entity, core network, etc.), or via additional message(s)exchanged with the user equipment 106.

The access point 104 generates a service discovery request 304. Theservice discovery request 304 may include one or more of the servicerequested, service type requested, request characteristics (e.g.,date/time of request), and the obtained information about the userequipment 106 that caused the service discovery request 304 to begenerated. The information about the user equipment may include anidentifier as to whether the user equipment 106 is associated (e.g.,connected and/or authenticated) with the access point 104.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the access point 104 may transmit the servicediscovery request 304 to the discovery proxy 160 associated with theservice 390. In some implementations, the access point 104 may transmitthe discovery request message directly to the service 390. The discoveryproxy 160 may then transmit a service discovery request 306 to theservice 390 to obtain service information. The service discovery request306 may include the device information.

The service 390 may generate the service information 308 based on thereceived device information. For example, if the message 306 identifiesthe user equipment 106 as authenticated, the service information 308 mayinclude a full discovery record for the service 390. If the message 306identifies the user equipment 106 as unauthenticated, the serviceinformation 308 may include a partial discovery record for the service390. In some implementations, an unauthenticated user equipment maycause the generation of no service information. The generation may befurther based on the time the discovery request was transmitted, acapability of the user equipment initiating the discovery request, orother information described herein.

Message 310 includes the generated service information and is sent tothe discovery proxy 160. In some implementations, the discovery proxy160 may cache this information for future discovery requests. In suchimplementations, the message 306 and message 308 may be omitted in favorof the information included in the cache. The cache may include ruleswhich indicate how long service information may be cached for, whichtypes of requests the cache may be used for, and the like.

Message 312 and message 314 carry the service information from thediscovery proxy 160 through the access point 104 to the user equipment106. Accordingly, the user equipment 106 may obtain information aboutthe service 390 without connecting to the access point 104. Furthermore,the service 390 may securely provide the service information byselectively including service information based on the device submittingthe request.

FIG. 3B illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating another exampleflow for efficient infrastructure service discovery with security. Themessage flow of FIG. 3B shows messages exchanged between severalentities which may be included in a wireless communication system. Forease of explanation, the number of entities shown has been limited.However, it will be understood that additional entities may be added ormultiple entities combined consistent with the description herein.

The flow shown in FIG. 3B illustrates the discovery process for a userequipment which is not connected (e.g., authenticated). The messages arethe same as described with reference to FIG. 3A. It will be noted thatthe flow shown in FIG. 3B omits the connect message(s) 301 which areshown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C illustrates a message flow diagram illustrating a furtherexample flow for efficient infrastructure service discovery withsecurity. The message flow of FIG. 3C shows messages exchanged betweenseveral entities which may be included in a wireless communicationsystem. For ease of explanation, the number of entities shown has beenlimited. However, it will be understood that additional entities may beadded or multiple entities combined consistent with the descriptionherein.

The messages in FIG. 3C are the same as described with reference to FIG.3B. However, as shown in FIG. 3C, the access point 104 communicatesdirectly with the service 390 rather than via the discovery proxy 160shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 4 shows a message flow diagram illustrating another example flowfor efficient infrastructure service discovery with security. Themessage flow of FIG. 4 shows messages exchanged between several entitieswhich may be included in a wireless communication system. For ease ofexplanation, the number of entities shown has been limited. However, itwill be understood that additional entities may be added or multipleentities combined consistent with the description herein.

The message flow in FIG. 4 illustrates one way to avoid changes toexisting services to provide efficient infrastructure service discoverywith security. Where in FIGS. 3A-3C the service 390 generated theservice information, the message flow in FIG. 4 may be used to allow theservice to report service information to the discovery proxy 160. Thediscovery proxy 160 may then enforce advertisement rules for the service390. The enforcement may be referred to as filtering the serviceinformation. The filtering may be based on whether the serviceinformation may be made publicly available or should only be provided toassociated UEs. The filtering may also be based on security settings forthe UE. For example, in a home network implementation, a particulardevice may be registered with the home network (e.g., Dad's Laptop)while a guests device may be foreign to the network. In suchconfigurations, the known device may be permitted more information thanthe guest device.

The flow of FIG. 4 shows the user equipment 106, the access point 104,the discovery proxy 160, and the service 390. The message flow in FIG. 4begins similarly to the flow in FIG. 3 with service discovery request302, obtaining of the device information 303, and service discoveryrequest 304. However, the service discovery request 406 may be astandard discovery request (e.g., zeroconf type protocol, access networkquery protocol, or a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)). The service 390may generate the service information 408 as if the requesting device wasauthenticated and transmit a service information message 410 to thediscovery proxy 160.

Message(s) 412 may be used to generate the service information by thediscovery proxy 160. The discovery proxy 160 may include advertisementrules in a memory. The discovery proxy 160 may be configured to alter,prune, or prevent information for the service 390 from being transmittedin a service information response message 414. For example, if theservice allows no unauthenticated devices from discovering the service,the discovery proxy 160 may transmit an empty response (e.g., “Servicenot found”) in message 414. In some implementations, the discovery proxy160 may perform this determination in advance of sending the requestmessage 406. In doing so, the discovery proxy 160 may avoid querying forservice information which would otherwise not be released to therequesting device. A message 416 may be sent to the user equipment 106indicating a response the requested discovery.

Some implementations may include messages formatted according to azeroconf type protocol. In such implementations, a multicast domain nameservices (MDNS) message may be used for discovering services. Table 1below shows an example format for an MDNS packet.

TABLE 1 offset (bytes) 0 1 0 ID = 0x0000 2 Flags 4 QDCOUNT 6 ANCOUNT 8NSCOUNT 10 ARCOUNT 12 Data

To allow the indication as to whether the message includes public orprivate service information, the multicast domain name service messagemay include an additional attribute. For example, the multicast domainname service message shown in Table 1 includes a Flag field. In thecurrent standard, only the first and sixth bits of this field are usedfor communication. One bit of the Flag field (e.g., second bit) may beused to indicate the privacy level for the service information includedin the message. For instance, a value of 1 may indicate privateinformation (e.g., share only with connected devices) while a value of 0may indicate public information (e.g., share with connected andunconnected devices). Additional flag bits may be used to provideincreased levels of permissions. The use of the Flag field is oneexample of how to implement aspects described herein for a zeroconf typeprotocol. In some implementations, the Data field of the multicastdomain name service message may include the privacy information.

For universal plug and play implementations, the UPnP response messagemay include service information as formatted text (e.g., fixed formattext; XML; and the like). In some implementations, the information maybe requested via HTTP and returned via an HTTP response. An example HTTPresponse including UPnP response information is shown in Listing 1below.

LISTING 1 NOTIFY * HTTP/1.1\r\n Request Method: NOTIFY Request URI: *Request Version: HTTP/1.1 HOST: 239.255.255.250:1900\r\n CACHE-CONTROL:max-age=60\r\n LOCATION: http://128.100.20.52:5200/Printer.xml NT:urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:PrintBasic:1\r\n NTS: ssdp:alive\r\nSERVER: Network Printer Server UPnP/1.0 OS 1.03.04.02 12-21-2007\r\nUSN: uuid:Dell-Printer-1_0-dsi-foo::urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:PrintBasic:1\r\n ...

In such implementations, a new field may be added to the formatted textto identify the privacy setting for the associated service. Forinstance, a privacy element may be added to the XML document. Asdiscussed above, the privacy element may be a simple element (e.g.,binary flag) or a more complex element identifying classes, sub-classes,and applicability rules for discovery of the service. Applicabilityrules may include time during which the rule applies, preconditions forapplicability (e.g., device characteristics, quality of service,bandwidth, etc.), classes of devices governed by the rule, exclusionrules, and the like.

As a third example, the access network query protocol (ANQP) includes aservice-query message type. The service-query message may be transmittedfrom the UE 106 to the AP 104 to discover a particular service. Theservice-query message may further include an attribute to identify anoperator for the service. For example, a user device is looking forprint services provided by their wireless carrier. In an airportsetting, the AP 104 may be operated by a third-party, but connected withthe wireless carrier. The user device may transmit the service-querymessage including the operator identifier to locate the appropriateprint service. The operator identifier may include a network accessidentifier, a roaming consortium identifier, or an operator name. The AP104 may direct the service-query message to the appropriate discoveryproxy for the identified operator and obtain the discovery informationtherefrom.

In some implementations which include the access network query protocol,pre-association service discovery may be performed by issuing the queryand receiving the response using application level packets. In thiscase, the AP 104 may direct the queries raised by a non-associateddevice to appropriate application server. The UE 106 may discover thepresence and identity of the application server before issuing thequery. For example, ANQP query may be used by the UE 106 to discoverapplication server identity. As another example, the applicationincluded on the UE 106 may include an identification of the applicationservice identity (e.g., stored in memory; configuration value). The UE106 may transmit one or more generic advertisement service (GAS)messages that carry application pay-load as well as the identity of theapplication server to which the AP 104 may send the payload.

FIG. 5 illustrates a functional block diagram for a network whichincludes selection of a service discovery proxy for multiplesub-networks. As discussed above, such as with reference to FIG. 1B, theaccess point 104 may provide radio access to a variety of sub-networks.In the system 500, the access point 104 is shown in communication withthree virtual local area networks (VLANs), VLAN 1 502 a VLAN 2 502 b andVLAN n 502 n. With reference to FIG. 5, the use of “n” indicates thenumber of VLANs the access point 104 is associated with. The VLANs maybe configured to communicate with the access point 104 via wired orwireless communication means. Not all VLANs may communication via thesame means with the access point 104 (e.g., one VLAN is wirelesslyconnected to the access point while another VLAN is connected via awired interface).

Each VLAN may be operated by a different network provider. As such, eachVLAN may offer different services (e.g., via service providing device A506 a, service providing device B 506 b, and service providing device506 n) to its subscribers. To allow each VLAN the ability to provideaccess to services hosted by the VLAN, a discovery proxy may be includedfor each VLAN (e.g., discovery proxy A 502 a, discovery proxy B 502 b,and discovery proxy n 502 n). Each discovery proxy may be configured todetermine what information to publish about the services provided. Forexample, as discussed above, the discovery proxy may include publicationrules identifying information which may be released to non-authenticateddevices. In this way, each VLAN operator may securely control access tothe services provided.

To facilitate discovery of the services, the user equipment 106 mayinclude, in addition to the service of interest, a provider of interestwith a discovery request message. One example discovery request messagediscussed above is an ANQP service-query message. The access point 104may identify the appropriate discovery proxy to route the servicerequest based at least in part on the provider information included inthe discovery request. If the requested provider is not associated withthe access point 104, a message indicating the requested service for therequested provider is not available. If the requested provider isassociated with the access point, the access point 104 may be configuredto forward the service request to the discovery proxy associated withthe specified provider.

Notwithstanding the above examples, advertising messages may be sentusing a number of different types of messaging protocols. As discussed,zeroconf type protocol, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), or ANQP may beused to offer listings of services for an AP. URIs may also be used tooffer listings of services for the AP. In some aspects, modifiedversions of one or more of these protocols, or other protocols, may alsobe used to transmit advertising messages. Advertising messages may besent as a number of different types of frames or messages. For example,advertising messages may be broadcast ANQP messages. For example,service discovery messages that are sent in response to an ANQP querymay be sent in broadcast during an advertising window. Advertisingmessages may also be transmitted as an unencrypted broadcast data frameand/or a broadcast public action frame.

FIG. 6 illustrates a functional block diagram for an example of a device600 for providing service information. The device 600 shown is asimplified illustration including several components which helpillustrate the features described herein. It will be understood that thedevice 600 may include other elements and/or configure the elementsshown in alternative or additional ways to achieve other functions.

The device 600 includes a service discovery request receiver 602. Thediscovery receiver 602 is configured to receive a service informationquery from a user equipment for a service. The service discovery requestreceiver 602 may be implemented using one or more of a receiver, atransceiver, an antenna, a processor, a signal processor, a memory, apacket network interface, and an amplifier. Means for receiving aservice information query may include the service discovery requestreceiver 602.

The device 600 includes a service discovery request transmitter 604. Theservice discovery request transmitter 604 is configured to transmit aservice discovery request for the service. The service discovery requesttransmitter 604 may be implemented using one or more of a transmitter,an antenna, a power source, a signal generator, a processor and amemory. In some implementations, means for transmitting a servicediscovery request include the service discovery request transmitter 604.

The device 600 includes a service discovery response receiver 606. Theservice discovery response receiver 606 is configured to receive aservice discovery response from the service including a publicationrules for the information included in the service response. The servicediscovery response receiver 606 may be implemented using one or more ofa receiver, an antenna, an amplifier, a comparator, a signal processor,a memory, and a processor. In some implementations the service discoveryresponse receiver 606 and the service discovery request transmitter 604may share one or more elements. In some implementations the servicediscovery response receiver 606 and the service discovery requesttransmitter 604 may be combined to form a service discovery transceiver.Means for receiving a service discovery response may include the servicediscovery response receiver 606.

The device 600 includes a discovery information generator 608. Thediscovery information generator 608 is configured to generate theservice information based at least in part on the service discoveryresponse and a characteristic of the user equipment such asauthentication status. The discovery information generator 608 mayinclude one or more of a processor, a memory, a comparator, a cache, aclock, a network interface, a message generator, and a message parser.In some implementations, means for generating the service informationincludes the discovery information generator 608.

The device 600 includes a discovery transmitter 610. The discoverytransmitter 610 is configured to transmit a service information responseincluding the service information. In some implementations, the serviceinformation response is transmitted directly to the user equipment. Insome implementations, the service information response is transmitted tothe user equipment via one or more intermediaries (e.g., an accesspoint). The discovery transmitter 610 may be implemented using one ormore of a transmitter, an antenna, a power source, a signal generator, aprocessor, a packet network interface, and a memory. Means fortransmitting a service information response may include the discoverytransmitter 610.

The elements of the device 600 may exchange information via a bus 612.In some implementations, the bus 612 may also be used to exchange power.

FIG. 7 shows a process flow diagram for an example method of providingservice information. The method shown in FIG. 7 may be implemented inone or more of the devices shown and described above such as that inFIGS. 2 and 6. At node 702, a service information query from a userequipment for a service is received. At node 704, a service discoveryrequest is transmitted to the service. At node 706, a service discoveryresponse is received from the service. The service discovery responseincludes a publication rule for information included in the serviceresponse. At node 708, the service information is generated based atleast in part on the service discovery response and an authenticationstatus of the user equipment. At node 710, a service informationresponse including the service information is transmitted.

FIG. 8 illustrates a functional block diagram for an example of a devicefor providing access to a networked service. The device 800 shown is asimplified illustration including several components which helpillustrate the features described herein. It will be understood that thedevice 800 may include other elements and/or configure the elementsshown in alternative or additional ways to achieve other functions.

The device 800 includes a discovery receiver 802. The discovery receiver802 is configured to receive a service discovery request for thenetworked service. The discovery receiver 802 may be implemented usingone or more of a receiver, a transceiver, an antenna, a processor, asignal processor, a memory, a packet network interface, and anamplifier. Means for receiving a service request may include thediscovery receiver 802.

The device 800 includes an information processor 804. The informationprocessor 804 is configured to generate service information describingthe networked service, the service information including a publicationrule for the service information. The publication rule identifies anauthentication status of a requesting user equipment and serviceinformation to transmit to a requesting user equipment having theauthentication status. In some implementations, the publication rule mayinclude multiple authentication statues, each associated with serviceinformation to transmit to corresponding devices having the indicatedauthentication status. In some implementations, the informationprocessor 804 may be implemented using one or more of a processor, amemory, a comparator, a cache, a clock, a network interface, a messagegenerator, and a message parser. Means for generating serviceinformation may, in some implementations, include the informationprocessor 804.

The device 800 includes a discovery transmitter 806. The discoverytransmitter 806 is configured to transmit a service discovery responseincluding the service information. The discovery transmitter 806 mayinclude one or more of a transmitter, an antenna, a power source, asignal generator, a processor, a packet network interface, and a memory.In some implementations, the discovery transmitter 806 and the discoveryreceiver 802 may share one or more elements. In some implementations thediscovery receiver 802 and the discovery transmitter 806 may be combinedto form a service transceiver. Means for transmitting a servicediscovery response may include the discovery transmitter 806.

The elements of the device 800 may exchange information via a bus 808.In some implementations, the bus 808 may also be used to exchange power.

FIG. 9 illustrates a process flow diagram for an example method ofproviding access to a networked service. The method shown in FIG. 9 maybe implemented in one or more of the devices shown and described abovesuch as that in FIGS. 2 and 8. At node 902, a service discovery requestfor the networked service is received. At node 904, service informationdescribing the network service is generated, the service informationincluding a publication rule identifying an authentication status andservice information to transmit to a requesting user equipment havingthe authentication status. At node 906, a service discovery responseincluding the service information is transmitted.

Examples of systems, methods, apparatuses, and devices for efficientinfrastructure service discovery with security have been described. Inone aspect, the example systems and methods describe how to advertiseservices available via an access point without requiring a device toconnect to the access point for discovery. This may allow devices todetermine, prior to establishing a connection with an access point,whether a desired service is offered. In another aspect, a descriptionof publication rules is provided. As discussed, service providers canuse the publication rules to identify service information which may bediscovered by devices based on device characteristics or other factorsto allow controlled, secure discovery of the service information.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing,and the like. Further, a “channel width” as used herein may encompass ormay also be referred to as a bandwidth in certain aspects.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the operations, such as varioushardware and/or software component(s), circuits, and/or module(s).Generally, any operations illustrated in the Figures may be performed bycorresponding functional means capable of performing the operations.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array signal (FPGA) or other programmable logic device(PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware componentsor any combination thereof designed to perform the functions describedherein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implementedin software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as oneor more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage media may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk, and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Thus, in some aspects computer readable medium may comprisenon-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., tangible media). Inaddition, in some aspects computer readable medium may comprisetransitory computer readable medium (e.g., a signal). Combinations ofthe above should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

The functions described may be implemented in hardware, software,firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, thefunctions may be stored as one or more instructions on acomputer-readable medium. A storage media may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For certain aspects, the computer program product may includepackaging material.

Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a transmissionmedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition oftransmission medium.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes, and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation, anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

While the foregoing is directed to aspects of the present disclosure,other and further aspects of the disclosure may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for providing service information,the apparatus comprising: a receiver configured to receive a serviceinformation query from a user equipment for a service prior to receivingan association request from the user equipment; a transmitter; and aservice information processor configured to: transmit, via thetransmitter, a service discovery request to one or more service devicesproviding the service; receive, via the receiver in response to theservice discovery request, a service discovery response from a servicedevice included in the one or more service devices providing theservice, the service discovery response including a publication rulehaving: a first portion identifying an authentication status, a secondportion identifying service description information to transmit to arequesting user equipment having the authentication status; and a thirdportion that identifies a time during which the publication ruleapplies; determine that a user equipment authentication status for theuser equipment corresponds to the authentication status identified inthe first portion of the publication rule; determine that a current timeis during the time which the publication rule applies; and generate aservice information response including at least a portion of the servicedescription information wherein the transmitter is further configured totransmit the service information response to the user equipment, whereinthe service information response is transmitted prior to authenticatingthe user equipment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the serviceinformation query further includes an operator identifier, wherein theoperator identifier includes one or more of a network access identifier,a roaming consortium identifier, or an operator name.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the publication rule further includes a thirdportion that identifies one or more characteristics of the requestinguser equipment which may receive the service description information,wherein the one or more characteristics of the requesting user equipmentincludes capability, bandwidth, location, accessory, or radio accesstechnology.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the publication rulefurther includes a third portion including a value indicating if thepublication rule may be cached and, if so, a duration of time thepublication rule may be cached for.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe service information processor is further configured to identify theservice from a plurality of services.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein the plurality of services are provided by a plurality of serviceproviders.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein generating the serviceinformation comprises generating service information indicating noservice found upon determining the authentication status of the userequipment is not included in the publication rule.
 8. A method ofproviding service information, the method comprising: receiving aservice information query from a user equipment for a service prior toreceiving an association request from the user equipment; transmitting aservice discovery request to one or more service devices providing theservice; receiving, in response to the service discovery request, aservice discovery response from a service device included in the one ormore service devices providing the service, the service discoveryresponse including a publication rule having: a first portionidentifying an authentication status, a second portion identifyingservice description information to transmit to a requesting userequipment having the authentication status; and a third portion thatidentifies a time during which the publication rule applies; determiningthat a user equipment authentication status for the user equipmentcorresponds to the authentication status identified in the first portionof the publication rule; determining that a current time is during thetime which the publication rule applies; generating a serviceinformation response including at least a portion of the serviceinformation; and transmitting the service information response to theuser equipment, wherein the service information response is transmittedprior to authenticating the user equipment.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the service information query further includes an operatoridentifier, wherein the operator identifier includes one or more of anetwork access identifier, a roaming consortium identifier, and anoperator name.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the publication rulefurther includes a third portion that identifies one or morecharacteristics of the requesting user equipment which may receive theservice description information, wherein the one or more characteristicsof the requesting user equipment includes capability, bandwidth,location, accessory, and radio access technology.
 11. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the publication rule further includes a third portionincluding a value indicating if the publication rule may be cached and,if so, a duration of time the publication rule may be cached for. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the service information processor isfurther configured to identify the service from a plurality of servicesprovided by a plurality of service providers.
 13. An apparatus forproviding access to a networked service, the apparatus comprising: areceiver configured to receive a service discovery request for thenetworked service from an access point providing service information toa user equipment; a service information processor configured to generateservice information describing the networked service, the serviceinformation including a publication rule having: a first portionidentifying an authentication status, a second portion identifyingservice description information to transmit to a requesting userequipment having the authentication status; and a third portion thatidentifies a time during which the publication rule applies; anddetermine that a current time is during the time which the publicationrule applies; a transmitter configured to transmit, in response to theservice discovery request, a service discovery response including theservice information to the access point providing the serviceinformation to the user equipment, wherein the service response istransmitted prior to the access point receiving an association requestfrom the user equipment; and a processor configured to provide thenetworked service to the user equipment via the access point.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein service discovery request originated witha user equipment.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the publicationrule further includes a third portion that identifies one or morecharacteristics of the requesting user equipment which may receive theinformation, the one or more characteristics of requesting userequipment including capability, bandwidth, location, accessory, or radioaccess technology of the requesting user equipment.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the publication rule further includes a third portionincluding a value indicating if the publication rule may be cached and,if so, a duration of time the publication rule may be cached for. 17.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the service information processor isfurther configured to identify the service from a plurality of services.18. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising an access proxy, theaccess proxy configured to obtain at least a portion of the serviceinformation from a service source, and wherein the service informationprocessor is further configured to generate the service informationbased at least in part on obtained portion of the service information.19. A method of providing access to a networked service, the methodcomprising: receiving, from an access point providing serviceinformation to a user equipment, a service discovery request for thenetworked service; generating service information describing thenetworked service, the service information including a publication rulehaving: a first portion identifying an authentication status, and asecond portion identifying service description information to transmitto a requesting user equipment having the authentication status; and athird portion that identifies a time during which the publication ruleapplies; determining that a current time is during the time which thepublication rule applies; transmitting, to the access point providingthe service information to the user equipment in response to the servicediscovery request, a service discovery response including the serviceinformation, wherein the service response is transmitted prior to theaccess point receiving an association request from the user equipment;and providing the networked service to the user equipment via the accesspoint.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein service discovery requestoriginated with a user equipment.
 21. The method of claim 19, whereinthe publication rule further includes a third portion that identifiesone or more characteristics of the requesting user equipment which mayreceive the information, the one or more characteristics of requestinguser equipment including capability, bandwidth, location, accessory, orradio access technology of the requesting user equipment.
 22. The methodof claim 19, wherein the publication rule further includes a thirdportion including a value indicating if the publication rule may becached and, if so, a duration of time the publication rule may be cachedfor.
 23. The method of claim 19, wherein the service informationprocessor is further configured to identify the service from a pluralityof services.
 24. The method of claim 19, further comprising obtaining atleast a portion of the service information from a service source, andwherein said generating of the service information based at least inpart on the obtained portion of the service information.